The Illinois
legislature is considering House Bill 1 that would create the
Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act.

Presently,
there are 18 states and the District of Columbia, which have such
laws in force. In 15 of these states, some or all patients and
their caregivers can cultivate their own marijuana crop. And of
course, Washington State and Colorado have made recreational use of
the drug legal in their states.

Executive
Director Greg Sullivan of the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association notes
that every state that has passed “medical cannabis” laws has had
significant problems in controlling the illegal drug trade and
holding the line on youth’s access to cannabis.

He says that
these laws basically send the wrong message to our youth because
they think it means “If its medicine, it can’t hurt you.”

There’s no
question that the last thing we want to see is an increase in ready
availability of marijuana for young people.

Many medical
and law-enforcement people agree with this concern. Dr. Mitchell
Rosenthal is a prominent child psychiatrist and the founder of
Phoenix House. It is the nation’s largest non-profit substance
abuse treatment and prevention organization. In a recent nationally
published article, he wrote, “Granny may be smoking it for glaucoma,
but there is nothing benign about the effects of pot on the juvenile
brain. Whatever its legal status, pot is not harmless.”

And of course,
growth in the available marijuana crop means problems with adults
too.

Colorado, for
example, in 2010 had slightly over 2% of their population having a
medical marijuana ID card. Based on that, if Illinois had these
cards reaching qualified people in the same proportion the total
number would likely be 270,000.

And these
270,000 people would be qualified to drive under the influence of
marijuana. The proposed law would allow a qualified medical
marijuana patient to drive with an unlimited amount of marijuana in
their system unless they are “impaired.”

According to
research, a single marijuana joint with a moderate THC level can
impair a person’s ability to drive for more than 24 hours. It can
slow reaction time, impair motor coordination, limit short-term
memory, and make it difficult to concentrate and perform complex
tasks.

If the law ends
up allowing 18-year-olds, high-school seniors, to get medical
marijuana cards and to drive, it would be a catastrophe.

How big a
problem would that be? One survey indicates that during the past 12
months, 20.3% of 12th graders and 6.2% of 10th
graders admitted that they had driven when using marijuana or other
illegal drugs. That number would certainly increase.

HB1 allows a
qualifying medical cannabis patient or caregiver to get 2.5 ounces
of cannabis every 14-day period. An 18-year old person can apply
for a medical cannabis card. Eighteen-year-olds, high school
seniors, can get medical marijuana cards without a parent’s
permission. As a qualified patient the student can get 2.5 ounces
of marijuana every 14 days. This is the equivalent of receiving 183
joints or 13 per day. Just how high would this be?

Even the most
experienced marijuana all-day-long drug user smokes on average only
3 or 4 joints a day. As a matter of fact, smoking 3 or 4 joints a
day would leave him student with roughly 145 joints to sell or
share. The patient could sell the remaining joints of marijuana for
$250 to $550.The results of these sales would quickly become a
problem for schools and communities.

There are
receptors in our head that react to THC and the more you smoke the
more these shut down.

Marijuana
impairs cognitive and psychomotor performance. It can slow reaction
time, impair motor coordination, limit short-term memory, and make
it difficult to concentrate and perform complex tasks.

Marijuana use
makes it difficult to judge distances and react to signals and
sounds on the road.

University of
Washington School of Medicine working with the Seattle Children’s
Foundation explains that euphoria, relaxation, and altered
perception occur 15-30 minutes after inhalation.

These
statements are from several studies conducted on the topic of
marijuana and youngsters.

*The younger
people are when they begin using marijuana, especially before the
age of 21; the likelier they are to become addicted to an addictive
substance.

*Regular
marijuana users often develop breathing problems. Smoking five
marijuana cigarettes is equal to smoking a full pack of tobacco
cigarettes. And there is 50-70% more cancer-causing material in
marijuana smoke than in cigarette smoke.

*For young
users, marijuana can lead to increased anxiety panic attacks,
depression, and other mental health problems. For those already
prone to depression or anxiety attacks, marijuana use may accelerate
or exacerbate problems.

*A British
mental health organization reported there had been a 60% increase in
people who had smoked cannabis and had mental problems in the last
five years.

* A roadside
study of reckless drivers who were not impaired by alcohol showed
that 45% tested positive for marijuana.

WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?

The most
important thing to do is to contact your Illinois Representative and
tell him your concerns. Enlist family members and your friends.
Explain why this act, if it should result in large scale usage in
our young people, would create damage that would never be undone.

Ask them to
help us avoid the truly alarming results that have now occurred so
widely.